Justice Alan Page pens book about pointed pinky

MINNEAPOLIS -- It is easy to hang on each and every word while having a conversation with Pro Football Hall of Famer and Minnesota Supreme Court Justice Alan Page.

In fact, an adult fortunate to have that conversation might not notice his unique left "pinky" finger. But a child is drawn to it. Page knows this from experience.

"It does make a good story," the former NFL MVP and feared Purple People Eater said.

"It's just a part of who he is," his daughter Kamie Page explained.

It just seemed natural that Kamie and her father would write a children's book about the soon-to-be famous finger. They penned the book to help raise money for the Page Education Foundation, which has helped thousands of kids attend college over the last 25 years.

It will be officially released on April 6 at the foundation's 25th anniversary benefit gala at Target Field.

The book is called "Alan and His Perfectly Pointy, Impossibly Perpendicular Pinky." It's about that finger that is permanently bent outward at a 90-degree angle.

That pinky was once evaluated on the gridiron by fellow famed Viking lineman Jim Marshall.

"He says 'What's your problem?' I sort of whimpered and showed him my finger and he says 'What's wrong with that? Give me your hand.' I gave him my hand and he yanked it back into place," Page recalled.

The pinky has been dislocated and reset several times. The thought always makes Kamie shake her head.

"I think it probably speaks a little bit to his determination," she said.

She's also quick to note that perhaps her father's exterior might not match his interior in the eyes of many.

"I think he's a softie. There's a side to him that I don't think people see. They see him as an intimidating former football player and an intimidating Justice and I see him as grandpa," she told KARE 11.

While Page has spent the past 20 years as a State Supreme Court Justice, he has also spent the past 25 years working on the Page Education Foundation. Not only does it provide money for young scholars, it requires them to give back to the educational community.

"Each one of those young people sending the strong clear message to those children that education is a tool that they can use to achieve whatever they want," Page said.

It is not only meant to raise money, the book could provide some inspiration.

As for that pinky, Alan Page will tell you "it makes for a very good turn signal."

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